A GALLANT MARCASSIN. 243 



their game, still they went very slow, which ac- 

 counted for their packing so well, turned very 

 short, but never came to bay. Several times they 

 were close enough for me to detect the thrusting 

 shoulders and heavy tread of a large animal had 

 he been there; but there was no such indication, 

 and the hounds again and again turned from me, 

 without my catching a view or being able to guess 

 the size of the boar they were after. Whatever it 

 was, it seemed to go as light as a fox, or certainly 

 the noise it made was drowned by the feet as well as 

 the tongues of the hounds ; they were close at it, yet 

 it never turned to bay. 



Several times M. d'Anchald and the two piqueurs 

 crossed me in the rides, but the hounds were too 

 near us, and we were all too much occupied for con- 

 versation. The pack then turned, from me again, 

 and ran some little time rather wide of me, w^ien 

 once or twice I thought I heard the scream of a 

 wild boar, but so faint was the sound that I could not 

 be sure. At last the report of a gun reached me, 

 and all noise ceased, so I made in as near as the ride 

 would let me, to where I could still hear an occa- 

 sional bay, and found that we had run in to a little 

 boar marcassin, or one of a litter ; and from the fact 

 liaving taken place in the vicinity of Jules d'Anchald, 



R 2 



